


A (not quite) Perfect New Year's Eve

by Virgilia (Zweena)



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (Mild) Sharing Body Heat Trope, A little of angst if you squint, Athena Is Best A.I., Fluff, I'm Bad At Titles, M/M, New Year's Eve, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, Trapped By A Blizzard, gets a little steamy at the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-27 20:05:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17773391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zweena/pseuds/Virgilia
Summary: They decided to go on a holiday together for the last two weeks of December. After spending a week in a small town lost in North Italy, Hanzo and McCree were supposed to travel up North and join some of their friends in Gothenburg. However, an unexpected blizzard blew up their plan. Now, they're stuck in this old, small run down house until the blizzard passes and it's cold. Hanzo's holiday spirit is M.I.A.





	A (not quite) Perfect New Year's Eve

**Author's Note:**

> This work was going to be part of the Target Practice Holiday Exchange 2018.  
> I'm sorry I let my giftee down.  
> This being said, I hope you'll enjoy it, even if the holiday's spirit has faded.  
> (unbeta'd)

Logs were burning in the fireplace, the relaxing sound of crackling flames joining the soft sound of simmering pots and the steady rhythmic  _ clacks  _ of a knife chopping vegetables on a wooden board. It would have been indeed a relaxing concerto with homely vibes if there wasn’t a  _ raging  _ blizzard outside. The wind was howling like a pack of hungry wolves, the shutters were trembling despite having been locked tight, hinges around the house were alarmingly creaking and, worst of all things, jets of cold air were coming down from the chimney.

 

Rolled up in a multi-layered-blanket-burrito, only sharp eyes and half nose visible, an archer sat in front of the fireplace. A very  _ pissed  _ archer.   
  
Now, Hanzo was  _ pissed.  _ It was the 31st of December, New Year’s Eve and a still-raging blizzard was keeping him trapped in that house. ...keeping  _ them  _ trapped.    
Jesse McCree was in the kitchen, currently busy chopping something from what Hanzo could tell; he had offered to make a dinner worth of New Year’s Eve and Hanzo hadn’t had the heart to turn down that offer. Their current situation didn’t seem to have scratched Jesse’s holiday spirit at all (if not a little bit); “I don’t care where or how we pass Christmas or New Year’s Eve. Actually, dun’ even care ‘bout ‘em, as long as I’m with you I’m a happy man.” Jesse had told him three days before, both of them chopping wood outside the small cabin to add to the supply for the coming blizzard; it was close, the wind was already catching up and they had little choice but keep stocking supplies.   
  
Hanzo sighed through his nose, sticking a hand out from the layers of blankets to look at his comm. He started typing fast a reply, resolute not to keep his hand away from the warmth under the blanket-cocoon for longer than needed.    
Damn his bad luck. Must have been his Karma.  _ Karma sure is a bitch.  _ __  
His comm buzzed, a pop-up notification appearing. Hanzo opened the message and just stared at the picture. For a moment, he felt the heavy bundle of negativity leave and his lips curled in a smile, even if a tiny one. Genji had sent him a photo: there was his brother, smiling and holding up his other hand in a V-sign. It seemed like he was hanging somewhere up on the ceiling or the walls… and from raging Torbjörn in the background Hanzo could tell it was exactly what Genji was doing, probably to get a better angle to include everyone in the photo. The room, which didn’t appear to him small at all, quite the contrary, looked a bit crammed with all those people but everyone looked they were enjoying themselves.    
“Athena?” Hanzo spoke, placing the comm on the small coffee table in front of himself.    
“Yes, Hanzo? How may I assist you?” Athena replied in just a matter of seconds, an holoscreen with the A.I.’s symbol on it being projected upward from the comm.   
“Could you show me the last picture Genji sent on the holoscreen?”   
“Of course.” she replied, the static image of her symbol disappearing, soon replaced by the picture the archer had been looking at before.   
“Thank you.” “You’re welcome. I will be here if you need me for anything else.” Athena then went silent.

 

Now focusing back on the picture, Hanzo started taking in all the details, stretching his hand to zoom on certain parts to take a better look. There were some people he didn’t recognize, some sitting at the farthest end of the table looking towards his brother, amused, some others were standing and helping Ingrid carry dishes and pots. They had to be her and Torbjörn’s other children and their partners. Not far from what he guessed was the kitchen’s door he spotted Angela, her brows set in a frown, and the ominc-monk, ”- _ Zenyatta” he corrected himself _ , carrying some other pots and pans. Near the huge Christmas tree by the fireplace, sitting on a huge armchair, how could he miss Reinhardt? It looked like he was in the middle of a roaring laughter that Hanzo had no problem imagine. Those children around him had to be Torbjörn’s grandchildren. Everyone was happy. It warmed Hanzo inside until the sour mood from earlier kicked back in.    
  
They were supposed to be there too but the weather had worsened in a very unexpected way, making it near impossible to travel. Tracer had even offered to come pick them up and drop them near Gothenburg but when Mei pointed out how risky it would be both him and Jesse agreed it wasn’t worth the risk. Hanzo sighed again and barely registered the approaching cowboy behind him. “Ah well, that sure looks like a mighty bunch of lovely people,” Jesse bent forward, leaning on the small reddish couch that sat in front of the fireplace; all those happy faces in the photo were contagious and a smile appeared easily on his lips. He waited a bit longer, hoping for the archer to reply to his previous statement in any way but instead an awkward silence set between them. For reasons unknown to him, his cheeks got a bit warmer. Jesse sighed. “Han… c’mon, I thought you were finally feeling better. We talked about this and sincerely I don’t know what to do with you anymore. At this point I’m startin’ to think yer bein’ a sourpuss just for the sake of being one.” McCree had learnt to be a wise man, avoiding unnecessary risks unless the situation called for it. Making his boyfriend snap out of his sour-induced apathy was one of those times he gladly pushed his self-preservations instincts aside. Risky as it was, Jesse knew that if he could just prod a little at Hanzo’s pride maybe he’d snap out of his mood. After all, he had been sitting in front of that damn fire since he started cooking -and that was six hours ago. When a whole minute of silence passed by and he got no response from Hanzo, Jesse started to get even more worried. ...maybe it hadn’t be the smartest idea to, well, insult him. 

  
“Han- I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to say that. It’s just- I can’t see you like this-” Jesse spoke fast, tripping on his own words, trying to apologize as fast as he could, not wanting to upset Hanzo even more.

“Jesse-” -Jesse quieted down almost immediately.  


He watched as Hanzo rose from the floor and turned around, dropping some of the blankets from his head to around his shoulders almost in a regal fashion; then he dropped unceremoniously on the couch, startling poor Jesse. They stared at each other for a few moments, Jesse’s expression a mix of confusion and surprise, still hanging from when Hanzo called his name. Hanzo muttered something so low that Jesse genuinely didn’t catch it. Awkwardly chuckling and now with an apologetic expression Jesse scratched the back of his head, a tick of his “Uhm- sorry pumpkin, I didn’t get that. Mind repeating it for lil’ old me?” The reddish hue that appeared on Hanzo’s cheeks didn’t pass unobserved. The archer looked away, at first biting his lower lip “I said- I’m sorry. And kiss me.” With that, his cheeks and even his ears turned even more red. It caught Jesse completely off guard, his tension now melting away with a rich and warm laugh. “With very much pleasure sweetpea.” then he leaned down to deliver his boyfriend a tender kiss on his lips. Though the tension from before was gone, Jesse knew after many trials by fire that his job wasn’t done yet, Hanzo still needed to talk it out and he wasn’t going to waste this chance. “Just gimme a moment, ‘kay? I just need to check how’s dinner comin’ out and make sure nothing is going to burn. I can even put in a little taste to my offer.” “...are you trying to bribe me with food Jesse McCree?” “Yup!” Jesse marked the ‘y’ while wiggling his eyebrows, challenging Hanzo’s frown. “....it’s working. Don’t take too long though or I swear I’m going to wrap myself in these blankets again and sleep the winter away.” Jesse stood back up straight and started heading to the kitchen “Rude.” Hanzo snorted, now a smile tugging at his lips.

 

Few moments later, Jesse returned holding a smaller plate and a tablespoon. Hanzo withdrew his legs a bit closer and shifted on a side, propping himself up on the armrest, leaving enough space for Jesse to sit next to him. He was so warm against him.    
Hanzo eyed the plate with curiosity; he was just about to pull one of his arms out from under the blankets but Jesse beat him, bringing the spoon close to his lips “Open up!”. Hanzo gave him a weird look but he didn’t refuse the cowboy’s offering of food. He let Jesse feed him, which was actually a great honor for Jesse, who was still a bit unsure of some of Hanzo’s boundaries.    
The flavour left Hanzo speechless. It was rich, savory, with a bit of a sweet and fat aftertaste that was enjoyable, not too greasy. It was delicious. “Gravy?” Hanzo guessed, enjoying the lasting taste. Jesse nodded and smirked, looking proud “Y’got it right Han. So, how’s it? I can already tell from your face but I’d rather hear it from you directly.” “Smartass. It’s...pretty good.” he lied. A raised, questioning eyebrow from Jesse made the archer roll his eyes and reconsider. “Okay, it’s the most delicious gravy I’ve ever tasted, I admit it. Happy now?”   
“Yep! You know well that your compliments are high praise for me. You don’t give out compliments easily.”  _ Damn the cowboy’s gift to make his cheeks warm up with such honest words. _

“What’s next?” Hanzo asked, stretching forward to look into the plate “Lentils?”. Jesse nodded and added “Cotechino and lentils to be precise” while taking a spoonful that he then fed to Hanzo. “When I went to buy the turkey the butcher’s wife was there too and I started talking with her while waiting for her wife to come back from the back office. It seems that even after all these years my Italian it’s still pretty terrible. I wished you were there with me. She looked at me with actual pity Hanzo and switched to English-” Jesse was interrupted briefly by Hanzo’s chuckling “-so, like every elderly people she started complaining against the worsening weather but gave pretty good advice. I asked her some New Year’s Eve traditions and she gave me this recipe. Seems like it’s a tradition here-” “-to eat lentils at midnight. It’s a propitiatory rite that’s supposed to bring fortune and money.” Hanzo interrupted Jesse while reaching for the plate and the spoon; he scooped up the remaining lentils and ate them. “Know-it-all,” Jesse teased him, earning a small ‘sorry’ from Hanzo. This time Jesse didn’t need to ask for Hanzo’s opinion, having already received his feedback.  
  
Jesse took the plate that Hanzo handed him back and set it down on the coffee table before laying on the couch with the archer. It was a bit too small for two grown men but they made it do. Hanzo being the big spoon flattened against the backrest and waited for Jesse to find a semi-comfortable position. No matter where or how they laid, they always clicked together perfectly like two puzzle pieces made for each other. Hanzo buried his nose in Jesse’s brown locks, inhaling his scent and closing his eyes. “Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes, mind if I stay here?” Jesse asked. Hanzo purred and shook slowly his head “Not at all.”   
  
“I’m sorry for having been in such a sour mood for the past days Jesse. I...I tried to come to terms with it but it seems like the world hates me sometimes-” Hanzo started, opening his eyes, to take a look at the photo still being projected on the holo-screen, as well as his heart “-I guess I just wanted to be with my **brother** for a holiday now that I’ve finally got him back. We worked hard. I worked hard. I wanted to spend a holiday like a normal person for once, with the ones I love and the few people I now call ‘friends’. This blizzard is unfair.”   
One would not believe it if they weren’t to witness it but Shimada Hanzo was, in fact, **pouting,** and being the lucky man Jesse McCree was, he turned his head just in time to catch that. Even though he felt genuinely sympathetic, Jesse couldn’t suppress the small chuckle that escaped him. A man that could probably kill with his eyes only, yet able to make the word ‘ _Adorable_ ’ pop in Jesse’s mind.   
Ignoring the sharp glare that followed, as expected, Jesse turned around (not without some technical difficulties that left half his butt sticking out from the couch’s shape); stretching his flesh hand to cup Hanzo’s cheek he brought himself closer to kiss the tip of the archer’s nose before speaking. “I know babe. It sucks but there’s nothing we can do about it. We just have to suck it up I guess. I mean- it could be worse. We could be both alone, wasting ourselves on some cheap booze and getting all depressed while going over our unfortunate past life’s choices.” Jesse was delighted to witness chuckle (though from how his eyebrows knitted, he knew that was painfully true).  
Hanzo sighed. He wondered how many times he had sighed these past days without feeling as lighter as he felt that moment. “You’re wonderful, you know that? I think I don’t remind you often enough.” “Eh, no need sugar, I know you know.” 

~  
  


They spent some time like that, cuddling up on the couch until Jesse checked the time and declared it was time to eat. Having had enough of sitting and doing nothing, Hanzo shed his multiple layers of blankets and lent him a hand to finish preparing for their little feast. The table was set. dishes were brought on the table and while Jesse filled them with the delicacies he had been working hard for the whole afternoon (and part of the day before), Hanzo lighted the candles all around the room. They snapped a photo of the table all set and sent it to Genji and the others. Satisfied, they sat down and began eating. Just as expected, the food was truly delicious: if there had been someone else beside them maybe Hanzo would have imposed some self-restraint on himself but since there was no one, he decided he care less about etiquette. Jesse had already seen the worst of him, a Christmas ago to be precise, with two Strawberry shortcakes. They decided to have some music play on the comm to have background noise that would cover up the creaking sounds coming from the house’s frames and the wind outside. That made it even more enjoyable. They started chatting in between forkful and forkful, starting from how they spent the past holidays while they were on the run and eventually going past, reminiscing of their childhood memories. Then, the subject switched to holiday traditions and customs they had experienced during their travels. Between the delicious food and the chatting they didn’t notice the time flying and only thanks to Athena speaking from their comms, they were notified that the clock had just struck 2355. Both men were surprised. “Oh shoot, I didn’t even take out the champagne from the fridge-! Hold on for a moment babe, I’ll be back in the bat of an eye-” Jesse was quick to rose on his feet and ran in the kitchen, leaving little time to Hanzo to even rebate; he followed him anyway. No way Jesse would have been able to bring everything in one trip.   
  
They hurried to bring dessert plates and forks, champagne flutes and the (!) champagne bottle Hanzo was pretty sure wasn’t from any of their past grocery trips, to the table. Jesse produced a chocolate cake from the fridge, much to the archer’s stupor. _Just how much had Jesse cooked? And just how did he manage to miss the smell of baking sweets?_ As if he had just read his mind, the man smirked and winked at him “I always have a ace up my sleeve. Seems like either I roll’d a Nat 20 on a Stealth check while baking or you failed your Perception check with a Nat 1.” Hanzo rolled his eyes with an amused smile. _What a nerd._   
  
“Athena, set a 60 seconds countdown starting when the clocks hits 2359, please.”   
“With pleasure, Agent McCree.”  
“Thanks, yer a real sweetheart Athena.” 

 

When the countdown finally started, Hanzo felt the need to reach over and slip his hand in Jesse’s. After so many years he finally felt a little of the same anticipation he’d feel as a kid while counting along with his brother, following the clock’s hand; true, it wasn’t strong as back then but it was a nice change for once. His eyes met Jesse’s. His were sparkling with anticipation too.   
It hit him, a few moments before the final ten seconds countdown.  _ It’s because I’m with you.  _   
  
“C’mon Han! Let’s count down together! Athena, you join too!” Jesse almost yelled.    
“How childish- ok, ok, no need to bring out the big guns, gunslinger. No puppy eyes needed.” Hanzo replied, standing up to join Jesse’s side. He was handed the champagne bottle, promptly ignoring an innuendo involving another... _ kind  _ of  **_big guns_ ** . 

“10! 9! 8!-”

“-7, 6, 5-”   
“4. 3. 2.-”   
“1!”

 

“Happy New Year Han!”   
“明けましておめでとう, Jesse.” ( _ Akemashite omedetou - Happy New Year _ )

The cork popped and skyrocketed to the ceiling with a loud pop. Jesse actually had to duck to avoid getting it after it ricocheted. They both chuckled at that before exchanging a long, sweet kiss that they indulged in for a bit longer. When they parted, Athena’s synthetic “ _ Hem-hem _ ” reminded them of something.    
“Shoot, sorry ‘Thena. Happy New Year to you too.”

“Thank you. Happy New Year, Hanzo. Agent McCree.”   
Hanzo actually bowed, “Happy New Year, Athena. Thank you for all your hard work.” he said. Usually Athena would have responded immediately but it took her a little longer this time. Looks like the A.I. got embarrassed for a moment. “I’m only doing my job but I do appreciate the thought. Thank you.”   
Jesse reached for the champagne glasses and held them out towards Hanzo, the archer catching on and picking one in his hand to fill it. After they both had their now-filled glass in hand, Jesse was the first to raise it and propose a toast “To this new year, with the hope it will be kinder on our old bones. Ha! Who am I even kidding? So, lemme change that...To this new year, that I hope to spend by your side and may it be the first of many to follow.” Hanzo’s cheeks turned a few shades darker but he didn’t try to cover his blush, nor his smile. He raised his glass too, nodding and before they made the glasses clink together he added “To us.“   
  
“Cheers!” “Kanpai.”

_ Clink! _   
  
A sudden, ominous sound of metal bursting violently pulled them back from their reverie. Survival instincts kicked in immediately and both men tensed up. They were already preparing for the worst case scenario. After all, an ambush in the middle of a raging snowstorm, on New Year wasn’t a terrible idea. Quite the opposite, actually. Jesse, who always tried to keep Peacekeeper as close to his person as possible, bolted to retrieve it from the drawer where he had stashed it. Hanzo’s storm bow was upstairs in the bedroom but it wasn’t wise to dash to the stairs and separate from McCree to retrieve it. It was too risky.    
Hanzo waited for Jesse to return, straining his ears to catch even the smallest of sounds. The cowboy alerted him of his presence with a little tap on the door and the familiar clicking of Peacekeeper’s cylinder. They waited. And waited. It was too quiet. Weird even. 

Then, the light on Hanzo’s comm flicked and Athena’s logo appeared “Agents, I do not relieve any other sign of activity aside from you two. However from what I could analyze the sound should have come from this floor’s bathroom.”  
. . .

They managed to find a torch and then ventured in the bathroom.

~

 

“...Han, c’mon calm down. It ain’t the end of the world-! We’ll see if we can fix it tomorrow morning.”

Hanzo shot him a glare, sending chills down his spine. The lightining the fireplace offered made a very much fuming Hanzo Shimada look furious and, honestly, kinda scary.

“Jesse,  _ my love _ ,”  _ uh-oh,  _ Jesse didn’t like that mix of  _ syrupy sweet  _ and  _ beastly growl  _ in Hanzo’s voice a tiny bit- “one of the boiler’s pipes burst. We’re lucky enough to not have had any leaks but I’d like to remind you that we have no power and central heating now. It’s a Winter night, on the 1st of January, and we’re also trapped in the midst of a snowstorm.” He paused, taking in a deep breath to calm down but when he spoke again he couldn’t suppress the growl that escaped “How can I stay  _ calm _ ?”   
  


Jesse scratched the back of his head. Hanzo had a point. It kinda sucked but it could be worse. “Actually- I was worried we couldn’t have any fireworks tonight but it seems something else exploded after all.” 

Against every predictions Hanzo didn’t yell at him but started laughing instead. “You’re ridiculous Jesse McCree.” Hanzo smiled. He felt...better; now that he had let some tension off he could think again with a clear mind. “Thank you for reminding me why I fell in love with you every time.”  
  


~

Two thinking minds worked faster and better than one. They quickly assessed their current situation: they’d need to find the warmest spot to sleep. Jesse had the idea to move the couch and bring the mattress, pillows and blankets in front of the fireplace. Cleaning with the fireplace as their only light source proved to be quite hard but they managed to store the food back in the fridge. They had enough food to probably last a week but they’d need to think of something to keep it refrigerated in the eventuality of being unable to restore the power. Given how cold it was outside, that was the least of their priorities.    
At 1 A.M. they decided to move onto their “bed” to relax while sorting out one last problem, how to keep themselves warm. They sat there, using the couch as a backrest, sharing a plate to have another serving of cake.    
  
“We stocked enough wood to last us some days but maybe we shouldn’t keep it going all day and night.” A loud pop coming from a burning log interrupted Jesse; a log shifted and fell on the bottom, some embers scattered around it. “Cold air comes down from the flue.” Hanzo added as he dug the fork in the cake. “Ya thinkin’ it’s too dangerous to have it going at night too, uh, right Han?” Jesse asked, smirking. A nod came from the archer. “Well then,” the cowboy stood up and started walking closer to the fireplace “hopefully these blankets will be enough.” So, he put out the fire, careful to push the ambers on the back.

  
  
Alas, blankets proved to not be enough. As the storm outside kept raging, the ice-cold air flowing from the flute was not-so-slowly robbing them of the stored heat. Both weren’t strangers to the cold but they’d rather avoid having to suffer too much cold through the night. Getting sick also wasn’t in their future plans. So, they did what they would have done in a much worse scenario: they stripped down to their birthday suit and decided they’d share heath like that.    
  


~  
  


Jesse laid on his right flank, his left arm wrapped around the archer as he spooned him, though not quite embracing him as he had removed his prosthesis. He was leaving a trail of kisses from Hanzo’s strong shoulders up to his neck. It was supposed to be affectionate, to help his lover relax and fall asleep but an involuntary moan coming from the Hanzo stirred  _ awake  _ something  _ else. _ Being this close to one another, it didn’t go unnoticed. Something inside them ignited and it lead to a steam exchange. They were both feeling too hot, inside and out.

 

Well, better  _ blow  _ off some steam.


End file.
